Reginald M. Turner Elected Board Chair of United Way for Southeastern Michigan

July 02, 2007-

DETROIT, MI – Clark Hill PLC attorney Reginald M. Turner has been elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. The announcement marks the first time that an African American has held the position in the 90-year history of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

“The United Way of Southeastern Michigan is a vital regional organization that is mobilizing the caring power of Metropolitan Detroit to improve our community in measurable ways,” said Turner. “I will strive to continue the fine work of Ralph Babb and Tony Earley, who conceived and solidified the regional merger, and led a transformation to a more focused United Way. It will be a privilege to work with CEO Michael Brennan, one of the best United Way executives in the nation. He and his staff have worked tirelessly to shape a new agenda that will preserve the traditional safety net, enhance educational preparedness, and build financial stability for the people in our region.”

Turner is a member of Clark Hill's Labor and Employment Practice Group and its Government Policy & Practice Group. Turner is a Past President of the National Bar Association and of the State Bar of Michigan. Turner is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honor reserved for less than one percent of lawyers in each state.

Turner is heavily involved with the United Way, serving as a member of the Executive Committee and as a board member of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan from April 2005 to May 2007, when he was elected chair. Prior to that time, he served as a board member of the United Way Community Services, (predecessor to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan) from 1999 through April 2005. He is an active member of the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Society, an organization that encourages individuals to deepen their understanding, commitment and support of United Way. Members of this society invest at least $10,000 annually in the community through United Way, and provide philanthropic leadership on both the local and national levels. As a member, Turner introduced the United Way to many in the legal community, and played a pivotal role in supporting the United Way’s Agenda for Change.

Turner is active in a number of public service, civic and charitable organizations. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Detroit Institute of Arts, as well as the Detroit Police Foundation. He is a Director of Comerica, Inc., the Hudson-Webber Foundation, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and the Josephson Institute. He is Chairman of the City of Detroit Board of Ethics.

In 2003, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm appointed Turner to the Michigan State Board of Education, and he won a statewide election for a full term in 2006. From 2000-2003, Turner represented Detroit Mayors Dennis W. Archer and Kwame M. Kilpatrick on the Detroit Board of Education. He formerly served on Governor John Engler's Blue Ribbon Commission on Michigan Gaming and on the City of Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

Turner has governmental experience at the federal, state and local levels, and he regularly counsels clients and advocates for them on important matters of public policy. In 1996-97, he completed a White House Fellowship in Washington, D.C. He spent his tenure managing a Presidential Task Force and working as an aide to former Housing and Urban Development Secretaries Henry Cisneros and Andrew Cuomo.